---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <6cb9c5cc-d4d7-5dc9-8b17-804bc2837a38@jacksons.net> Date: 27 Sep 2020 10:36:59 -0400 From: "Chuck Jackson" <clj@jacksons.net> Subject: Free Linux vs. RHEL On 9/24/2020 10:32 AM, Fred Goldstein wrote: > The original guru of Free Software (not to be confused with Open > Source), Richard Stallman, explained the business model that he approved > of. Software came Free, with a license allowing everyone to use it and > modify the sources, but the vendor could make money selling support > services. And that's what Red Hat did. RHEL is a fully supported > operating system, competing with other paid OSs. A corporate buyer is > not going to trust an important system to "let's check the forums and > ask on IRC and Usenet if anybody knows how to deal with this problem". > They want and need support, and are willing to pay for it. So RHEL has > lots of free code, but you get support from experts (though I don't know > how good their first-line help is; I never used it myself). > > Your flames were written in 2003. In 2004, Centos kicked off its own > distro, which is basically RHEL (minus any proprietary tools) recompiled > for free. So you can run the same stuff on Centos as on RHEL; you just > don't get IBM's support. What's not to like? You now have supported and > free (as in beer) versions to choose from. And Fedora is there for > hackers who like to play with the latest stuff, or developers, which is > probably the major share of the desktop and educational Linux market. > > I've seen Centos used in mission-critical embedded systems. Our moderator responded with a further criticism of Red-Hat including stating: > For practical purposes, RedHat took over Linux - not in theory > or law, just in all the ways that they needed to make some quick cash. I think Fred is right about the value of support. If you install RHEL 8 today, Red-Hat states that it will be supported until May, 2029. That's worth a lot---it's cheaper than hiring some consultant to patch things up if they go bad. More importantly, as important as RHEL is, it is only a small part of the Linux world. I don't even know how many copies of Linux are running in our house---but there are at least nine (Amazon Firesticks, the audio system on our Subaru Forester, Android phones, a Chromebook, and Amazon Kindles). I suspect that there are several more instances of Linux embedded in devices such as a web radio, web cams, thermostats, Wi-Fi routers, etc. There are also three or four instances of Linux on the machine I'm typing this on. In this case, they are running on WSL on Windows 10. I don't have Cygwin installed on this machine, I just use WSL or Windows Terminal running Debian or kali-Linux. For perspective, go to https://www.linuxfoundation.org and browse around. One foundation project is "Automotive Grade Linux." [Although] I couldn't find a list of all the manufacturers who are incorporating it into their vehicles, I did find mentions of Toyota, Subaru, and Mercedes-Benz. Chuck Charles L. Jackson clj@jacksons.net +1 301 656 8716 ***** Moderator's Note ***** Every major Linux distro has a "Long Term Support" version. I use the Ubuntu distro, and am currently on Ubuntu "LTS" for all my Linux installs, so RedHat doesn't have anything to brag about as far as "Long term support" goes. I don't mind Canonical making money by maintaining Ubuntu Linux - it's a face-to-face transaction with no deception involved. And, yes, Linux is common in consumer-grade electronic devices. The point you're missing is that nobody buys a car based on the computer operating system that's running its stereo or Bluetooth, nor "Android phones, Chromebook[s], and Amazon Kindles." Those are packaged goods, so your example is not valid. RedHat marketed "RedHat," not Linux, and fooled a lot of people - including me - into believing that they were trying to promote Linux instead of the RedHat brand name. Companies buying computer software are entitled to know if they're purchasing rebranded goods, and RedHat was able to hide their intent for long enough to make money and leave those of us whom promoted its brand name holding the bag. I'm closing this thread. Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <cf69bfce-0522-4fa1-92a7-c0a960b2f024n@googlegroups.com> Date: 27 Sep 2020 12:02:55 -0700 From: "PA Grade 11" <pa_grade11@bcdschool.org> Subject: Re: Does anyone remember this payphone trick? On Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 8:03:19 PM UTC-4, noo...@yahoo.com wrote: > On Thu, 23 Apr 2009, "Phluge" wrote: > > Somewhere around 1953 when I was a teen, you could get all the free > > payphone calling you wanted from a phonebooth by using a bobby-pin. > > I did this in the late 80's early 90's at my junior high to get picked > up from sports after school. Paper Clip in center hole of the phones > mouth piece and there was a tiny indent on the metal of the old pay > phone. Must of been an older pay phone. Worked every single time I > needed it. I did this too- but in 1984 in Milan, Italy. I had always thought it was an Italian thing. LOL. Soon the police caught on and we didn't do it anymore. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <17F34A4B-5478-40C1-B3C1-D819D9244446@roscom.com> Date: 26 Sep 2020 00:23:44 -0400 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: T-Mobile hits back at AT&T and Verizon after spectrum- hoarding accusations Carrier battle heats up as FCC prepares to auction more spectrum. By Jon Brodkin T-Mobile US CEO Mike Sievert yesterday fired back at AT&T and Verizon, saying the carriers' complaints about T-Mobile obtaining more spectrum licenses show that they are afraid of competition. "The duopolists are scrambling to block this new competition any way they can... Suddenly in the unfamiliar position of not having a dominant stranglehold on the wireless market, and preferring not to meet the competitive challenge in the marketplace, AT&T and Verizon are urging the FCC to slow T-Mobile down and choke off our ability to compete fairly for added radio spectrum," Sievert wrote in a blog post. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/09/t-mobile-hits-back-at-att-and-verizon-after-spectrum-hoarding-accusations/ ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Tue, 29 Sep 2020